Bill to further regulate cosmetic medical procedure moves to final reading

SALT LAKE CITY — The Senate gave preliminary approval Monday afternoon to a bill to further regulate cosmetic medical procedures and use of certain instruments to perform them.
Sen. Peter Knudson, R-Brigham City, said SB40 was a “compromise ” bill among “a lot of different people that provide a lot of different levels of health care in our state.”

But Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, said despite the changes, the bill, as currently written, could give Utahns a false sense of security because spas that provide these services would not be prohibited from advertising as “medical spa” even when there is no physician is on the premises.
“Utahns need to be very aware: ‘Medical spa’ is lie,” Valentine said.
Valentine said he will bring forward an amendment to address the issue.
The intent of the bill is to clarify the types of procedures and uses of instruments that must be medically supervised. Hair removal could be conducted without direct physician oversight. Procedures that involve removing tissue below the skin do require an examination by physician, Knudson said. Requirements for training and education would also be increased under the bill.
Valentine said there is a definite need for the bill but it may not go far enough. His law firm has handled the cases of people who were scarred by procedures performed in “medical spas.”